Very hot bedroom!!

[dino]

We have 3 bedrooms on the second floor of our cape cod, and the one in the northwest corner got so hot last summer (our first summer in this home). We really want to make it better for this summer. Last summer we replaced the ceiling fan and miniblinds, and we tinted the windows ourselves and hung a well insulated curtain, which seemed to help some, but it feels nothing like the other rooms. We also adjusted the damper on the air duct to max flow. We actually left the cover off the vent last year and put a fan in front of it to try and help. This is my 2 yr olds room and afternoon naps are a must. The room is about 10 X 12. It's been absolutely fine all winter. We are considering a few options and I would like some advice on them if anyone can.

:arrow: Installing a "fan booster" in that duct
:arrow: Changing the screen in the window. We recently got a screen replaced with dense "dog proof" netting and we can feel the temp difference in our kitchen. Wondering if that will help.
:arrow: adding insulation to the attic

Thanks so much!!

[imported_joed]

If there is no return vent in the room and you are closing the door that could cause a problem.

[dino]

There is a return vent. We do close the door for naps and bedtime, but that's it. Any other thoughts?? Thanks

[Mark_R]

Dino, several things come to mind, most of them not simple unfortunately. I am guessing that this is an afternoon heat problem given the direction the window faces.

Normally, one of the most 'lossy' features in a home are the windows, but with the heavy curtain it sounds like you have addressed that problem fairly well.

Another lossy area is the wall insulation, but if the heat is specific to this one bedroom then that is initially ruled out, and a very labor-intensive fix in any case.

Given that this is a second story room, the first thing I would investigate is the insulation above this particular room, and the venting of the attic. Although heat tends to travel upwards, you may have an attic hotspot that is trapping the heat below.

I don't think the vent booster fan will do much for you... if the heat is a 'sense-able' problem, say 5 - 10 degrees, you probably need at least a few thousand BTU's to counteract it from a brute force approach.

If you can't find an obvious problem in the attic, for a quick-and-dirty fix I would just put a window AC unit in that room to supplement the central AC unit. Not elegant, but the cost vs benefit, especially for a summer home of unknown age and condition, might be hard to beat.

Later on this summer you might do some comparisons on attic temperature and, if stifling, add a powered vent or additional vents to cut down on your overall cooling costs.

[dino]

Mark, Thanks for the reply. A couple of things. We figure the room was at least 10-15 degrees hotter than the rest of the house before we made the changes. At the end of last summer, it was probably 5-10 degrees hotter. (Just to give you an idea of what we are dealing with). Also, the windows happen to be 36" casement style windows. Any options for the window unit? An off the wall idea....what about an exhaust fan of some sort (like bathroom style)? Would that work? Along the lines of venting the attic, what are your thoughts about a turbine style vent? How does that work?
Thanks!

[Wgoodrich]

I would look first at teh insulation in the attic over that room. I would increase the insulation to have a heavy insulating blanket over that hot room.

Next tell us if this room is plaster and lathe or new construction. If it has plaster and lathe then I suggest stripping the plaster leaving the lathe. Rewire the room then blow the walls full with insulation. Remember do not insulate if knob and tube wiring.

If those to repairs don't do it then I suspect your heating system was not designed in a balanced system design.

Tell us how old this house is. This will tell us you most likely construction style then we can get more down to the bottom of the problem.

If the sealing of the room as suggested above, then you may need to add a second heat and cold air return duct system from teh main trunk line of your heating system to increase heating and cooling in that room.

From what you are saying I am suspecting convection heat from the sun beating on that room is your problem lacking proper insulation over all concerning this subject as discribed. Insulating the walls properly with a vapor barrier then sealing the attic by proper insulation should be the base of the problem.

Cheap easy fix would be an assist window air conditioner installed in the room. Better to buy a window air conditioner too big than find it short of doing the job. This is the most common short cut fix done by most people.

Let us know how you come out and Good Luck

Wg

[sluciani]

First I would address the insulation and attic ventilation problems.
At this point , if you still have a problem , you should find a Certified air balancer to balance the system. He will make adjustmants and recomendations. Otherwise, any adjustments you make to the system, amount to guessing.

[dino]

We had a heating/cooling company come out and look at the ductwork. They suggested the problem is that because the ductwork to that room runs right up the west side of the house, there likely isn't any insulation around it since it is between the walls. They feel the air is being heated on the way up. They want to try to relocate the ductwork/vent to the opposite (and inside) wall. Estimated about $300-500. The only other room that is ducted up that wall to the upper floor is the bathroom in the middle of that west wall. It isn't used too much and doesn't "feel" like a problem.

While I can understand that theory, we also feel the flow of air into that room is less than others. Does this seem possible and what might affect that? We have quadruple checked the dampers in the basement. We've even adjusted some of the less used/cooler rooms to try and shunt the air. Should we dismantle the ductwork a bit and make sure there isn't a "foreign body" in there? Heating during the winter was never an issue (temp was always just right).

As advised, we did add some extra insulation that was found up in the attic. So far this year it seems it has been better, but it's also not as hot outside here as last year (thank goodness!). We've decided to explore all options this year and track the temps and decide what to do before next spring.

Also, the house was built about 16 years ago. It is a "1 1/2 story cape cod", where the roof pitch is steep down the east side of the house with dormer windows and more flattened on the west side.

Thanks for all your help!

[sluciani]

It sounds as if the contractor who looked is just guessing.
He needs to take temperature readings to see if the air is picking up heat on the way to the diffusers. Also, air flow readings should be taken to see exactly how much air is being directed to each room. It's not difficult to do with the right equipment.
Otherwise, anything you do is just a guess. You may end up spending money on fixes that won't work. Look for an NBI certified air balancer or , at least someone who owns an airflow hood. Some a/c contractors are starting to offer this service.